Nis­san will mak­ing a few sig­nif­i­cant changes to its bat­tery elec­tric vehi­cle, the Leaf, that will extend the dri­ving dif­fer­ence per charge and low­er the cost on a new, basic mod­el. The changes start in the Japan mar­ket and then will make it to the US as well. A new entry lev­el ver­sion of the Leaf will go to US show­rooms next year and all US ver­sions will see extend­ed range.